It’s not in the book(s) — that’s the first thing to know. George R. R. Martin, inventor and supposed ruler of Westeros, isn’t the true dictator after all. Martin has said as much in the past, but David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (the showrunners) really run Westeros now. That means pure power. Power to create a summit that Martin teased but has never yet consummated. Read A Dance with Dragons and you won’t find it, but turn on your TV or device and you will: Tyrion Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen have met. Game of Thrones has never veered as far from — just ahead of? — its source material as this.
Does this mean the books are no longer a reliable guide? Surely many details have been different in the past — it’s a necessity. But have the demands of Game of Thrones watchers now completely overrun the matter of loyalty to the integrity of the books?
